Steve McIntosh Report Blog

More reasons for the Southeast decision

by Steve McIntosh,posted Jul 2 2013 1:23AM

There were more strong reasons for the Wichita school board’s decision to build a new Southeast High School … beyond the argument that the district simply cannot afford a renovated Southeast and a new one.
School board president Lynn Rogers told me the property owner near the current school was not prepared to sell the district the land needed to expand. That could have meant a long imminent domain hassle, with an uncertain outcome.
What about the argument that the current school is six miles from the new location, and the impact that will have on students’ commute? Rogers tells me that segment of the district is 12 miles across, and that 65% of Southeast students already drive or take the bus to class every day. He says that’s true for all the high schools in Wichita.
Rogers also says the interest of the Wichita Area Technical College in the current Southeast dovetails with school district plans to offer more vocational and technical training.
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Our thought for today is from Elbert Hubbard:

“Never explain … your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.”